NEW MILLENNIUM MOTHERS MOTHERS SOCK IT TO NIKE Introduction

I'm not totally oblivious to world human rights movements, but other than a pleasant acquaintanceship with the Vietnamese proprietor of the nail salon where I get my weekly manicure, I know precious little about Vietnamese working conditions.

Call me Americentric, but I'm far more concerned, economically speaking, with how our citizens earn a living wage and how we spend it. African-American single sisters, in particular, give me cause for alarm, when I watch them being driven to distraction by a brood of mean, sniveling, and out-of-control children who demand expensive athletic shoes that are way out of mama's budget.

Where those concerns collide--both in regard to human rights and economic
parity--results in an eclipse of my mind, becoming more than an observation. It's become an obsession!

At some point, a sister simply has to take a stand. Even when she has to go
toe-to-toe against some revered corporate institutions.
This, then, is the first of several articles [albeit opinionated] taking on one particular American business icon, that happens to be, as well, Vietnamese scrounge: Nike.

The New Millennium Mothers Movement just wants to warn Wall Street, a slew of professional athletes with humongous endorsement contracts, Philip H. Knight, Chairman and CEO of Nike, and all of those other rubber sneaker titans, that When It's Nike v. Mom, The Shoes Must Lose.

© Valerie Shaw 2000- All Rights Reserved
**All contents are the exclusive rights of the author and may not be copied, excerpted, nor duplicated without the expressed written permission of the author. For questions regarding duplication of this work, send email to author.


Related Articles:
PAPPAS 5 Point Pledge
Edulinquency Is Society's Problem
When It's Nike v. Mom, The Shoes Must Lose
Talking a good game, CEO/Founder Philip H. Knight's letter to Nike stockholders
Nike wants to hear from you. Click "Responsibility," then "Talk To Us."

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